


Before I sleep

by SamWinchesterIsAHero



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Caring!Dean, Hellhounds, Hurt!Sam, Limp!Sam, Lost - Freeform, Norse Mythology - Freeform, Robert Frost, Snow, Winter, Winter Solstice, Wodan, close to death, frantic!Dean, poem, woods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-07
Updated: 2015-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-06 11:18:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3132512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamWinchesterIsAHero/pseuds/SamWinchesterIsAHero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While hunting a creature that comes out on Winter Solstice Sam gets lost in the woods where he is hunting the monster.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The poem is not mine, it was written by Robert Frost. I suggest you check out his other poems, because I think he is an phenomenal poet. The full poem is at the bottom of this work in the end notes. It is called "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Dean go out hunting the Norse god Wodan. They split up to cover more ground, while apart Sam comes face to face with the creature and kills it. But before the it dies, the god's body erupts in on itself and the power throws Sam back into a tree knocking him out cold. Sam must deal with the dangers of being out in winter in deadly temperatures.

Sam walked, no _trudged _, through the forest and the couple feet of snow that lay on the ground. It was the winter solstice that day and a god called Wodan decided to make that the day when he came out to take people. He was the Norse god of the dead and darkness, and liked to use hellhounds to kill anyone who was in or near the woods. So of course Sam and Dean went out to try and find him and kill him. They had went through the woods together but quickly figured out that they needed to split up to cover more ground, since the woods Wodan decided to live in were massive. Though they reluctantly they had headed off in opposite directions to look for the god. They had made a plan that once it started getting dark they would both head back to the motel, since it was freezing during the day, but temperatures dropped to deadly temperatures at night, even with good gear. Of course the damn thing just _had _to choose the _winter _solstice, and make his hunting grounds in fucking _Minnesota _.  
Walking through the woods Sam stopped and looked around; he hadn't looked, or noticed before, but it was _gorgeous _out here! Then Sam noticed something else, it was getting dark, he knew Dean would have started back towards the motel. Sam though decided to look just a little longer, since the thing only came out to their knowledge once a year. As Sam kept walking, listening for the god, but also listening to the sounds of nature, looking around at the beauty winter had created. If Dean were with him he would have made a joke out Sam being such a girl and how his real name was Samantha. Looking around Sam started to think of a part of a poem he had read once.__________

"Whose woods these are I think I know.  
His house is in the village though;  
He will not see me stopping here  
To watch his woods fill up with snow."

As Sam continued walking forward he heard a howl that distinctly sounded like a wolf, or in this case, a hellhound, and hooves, thousands of them. Sounds that just so happened to belong to Wodan. Sam quickly drew the one of the weapons that he and Dean had crafted, the only thing that could kill the god, and got ready, and scanned the forest around him.  
Suddenly out of the corner of his eye Sam saw movement and tracked it with his eyes, suddenly a creature, that looked like a man, appeared on a black demonic horse, a spear in his hand. He looked at Sam and then started to charge him, quickly Sam ducked out of the way, and drew his demon knife, knowing that he easily could take care of the horse. When Wodan quickly turned his horse around and charged Sam again. Moving quickly Sam got out of the way and stabbed at the horse, getting it in the neck. Right away the horse let out a neigh of pain, the stab wound was deep, and Sam knew it would be fatal. He quickly lunged at the horse again since both it and Wodan were distracted and plunged his knife into the horse's side, he felt the knife puncture the lungs, and Sam started slicing through the demonic horse's side to make the wound bigger. Quickly the horse fell down, and Wodan quickly jumped off and out of the way. Sam watched as the horse quickly took a few more breaths, let out some pained sounds before it died. That was one thing Sam loved about the blade other than its ability to kill demons, it got the job done quicker than any normal knife would.  
Wodan looked at Sam then with pure rage in his eyes, angered now at the death of the horse. The god quickly raised his spear, readying to fight. Sam also raised his own weapon. They moved around in a circle, going around the dead horse's body. Then all of a sudden hellhounds appeared from the woods around Wodan, ready to back the god up if he needed it, Sam knew all he had to do was kill the god and the wolves would leave. He would have to make a quick kill, or else the demonic mutts would attack. Wodan then suddenly lunged at Sam, but his hunter's reflexes kicked in and Sam easily dodged that attack. He swiveled around to face the god. Wodan looked at Sam and then made a motion, one of the hellhound lunged at Sam from behind, and Sam quickly tuned around grabbing the demon knife he plunged it into the hound, watching in triumph as it fell to the ground dead. Wodan took the moment then to attack Sam when the hunter wasn't paying attention. They both fell to the ground and struggled, throwing punches at each other so that one or the other could get into position to make then final kill to end the others life.  
Still struggling, Sam was able to pin the god underneath him, he grabbed the weapon to kill Wodan and plunged it into the god's heart. Quickly the god stilled and then stared shaking and a glow came off of him. The hellhounds around the two of them disappeared, back to where they belonged, now that their master was dead. Sam rolled of the still shaking and glowing, but now dead, god and stood and looked down at the corpse. Suddenly there was an explosion from the body, the explosion itself was harmless, but the power of it threw Sam back it one of the trees, hard. His head slammed into the tree and Sam quickly fell to the ground, unconscious.

 

 

 


	2. The Darkest Evening of the Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam wakes up after killing Wodan, but us left in deadly temperatures at night from being knocked unconscious.

"My little horse must think it queer  
To stop without a farmhouse near  
Between the woods and frozen lake  
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake  
To ask if there is some mistake  
The only other sound's the sweep  
Of easy wind and downy flake."

Sam thought about the next two stanzas of the poem, the first thing to come to his mind as we woke up. Why was he asleep? Sam quickly remembered then, the woods, cold, splittig up, fighitng and killing the god, then being thrown and knocked out. As soon as he thought it Sam realized how _cold _he was! He was freezing, and his head hurt like a bitch from taking the impact against the tree. Opening his eyes, Sam brushed the snow from his face and looked up. It was dark out, to dark, and he knew Dean would be worrying about him not being back yet; knowing Dean he was probably having a panic attack about Sam's absence. Sam also knew that he had to get out of the woods, Norse gods weren't the only things in these woods capable of killing a person, and something living wasn't the only thing that could bring death. He had been out to long already, and could feel the affects of the cold. The cold could kill him just as easily as any creature could. Standing up Sam started walking the direction he had come from, at least where he thought he had come from, the snow that was falling was already beginning to cover his tracks.__  
~o~  
He was cold, hungry, and sore; but most of all he was tiered. Sam just wanted to fall down and go to sleep in the inviting snow. Slip into the warm safeness of sleep. But he knew he couldn't, if he did he wouldn't wake up. He couldn't do that to Dean. Couldn't give up, couldn't let his brother down. Not like this. Sam had already been walking for a few hours, and was cold, could feel hypothermia and frost bite take his strength. He gathered his strength and continued on forward.  
~o~  
Sam looked at his watch, 10:23 P.M., 6 and a half hours he had been out here. Sam assumed Dean was frantic at this point. He wanted to stop, to sleep, he would feel better if he slept. His mind was screaming at him to stop, to give up, that it was useless to go on, to keep fighting. He thought, maybe Dean would be proud of him that he fought this long, that he wouldn't be letting Dean down by stopping, that Dean would be proud of him fighting this long. Sam quickly snapped himself out of that thought, no, Dean would not be proud if he gave up. He would be disappointed in Sam. He had to keep moving, for Dean, he had to survive.  
Sam remembered the last part of the poem.

"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,  
But I have promises to keep  
And miles to go before I sleep,  
And miles to go before I sleep."

 

He couldn't break the promise to never let Dean down again. He could sleep when he was with Dean.  
~o~  
Sam broke through the tree line, and let out a cry of relief and happiness at the sight of the Impala, with Dean by it, yelling at a ranger to get a search party together, that his brother was out there.  
Sam used the last bit of his strength to yell Dean's name, then fell to his knees in exhaustion. His brother's head whipped around at the sound of his name Sam feared for a second he'd get whiplash.  
Dean's eyes locked on to his little brother and he broke into a sprint, running towards him. Dean fell to his knees in front of Sam and gathered him in his arms.  
Dean was saying something to Sam, but Sam couldn't hear him, he was safe, he was in his brother's arms, he hadn't let him down. With that thought Sam let himself finally drift and slip under into the warm safeness of sleep.


	3. I have promises to keep.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean finds Sam.

Dean was frantic at this point, 6 hours, 6 _fucking _hours since he has last seen Sam. His brother wasn't answering his phone, there was no sign of him anywhere. By the time it was dark Dean was frantic. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and quickly called the ranger's number that had been given to them when they came out here to research the case. After a couple rings the ranger finally picked up, asking what the problem was. Dean hurriedly explained the situation, saying that his partner was lost in the woods, and they hadn't seen each other for 6 hours, yelling at the ranger to come down here with a search party. After giving his location, Dean hung up. The ranger was on his way, hopefully with help. Half an hour later the ranger pulled up, without anyone else, Dean ran over to him, demanding to know where the search party was. The ranger explained to him he couldn't have people in the woods at night in these temperatures, that he would get a party in the morning out here, and that he couldn't allow Dean back into the woods to search for his partner. Dean lost it and screamed at the idiot that not only was that man his partner, but also his brother so he better get a damn search party out here to look for him! Then all of a sudden Dean heard his name being called out, Sam's voice. Dean whipped his head around at his name toward the voice of his baby brother. He eye's landed on Sam and he broke into a dead sprint towards his brother as Sam fell to his knees. Dean quickly gathered Sam into his arms, yelling at the ranger to get a blanket and call 911. Dean then turned his attention back to Sam, telling him he was going to be all right, to hang on, and "oh no you don't, don't go to sleep on me yet little brother, helps on the way". Sam didn't seem to hear any of it as he drifted to sleep in Dean's arms.__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real Short chapter, but this story is done.

**Author's Note:**

> "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"  
> By: Robert Frost  
> Whose woods these are I think I know.  
> His house is in the village though;  
> He will not see me stopping here  
> To watch his woods fill up with snow. 
> 
> My little horse must think it queer  
> To stop without a farmhouse near  
> Between the woods and frozen lake  
> The darkest evening of the year. 
> 
> He gives his harness bells a shake  
> To ask if there is some mistake.  
> The only other sound’s the sweep  
> Of easy wind and downy flake. 
> 
> The woods are lovely, dark and deep,  
> But I have promises to keep,  
> And miles to go before I sleep,  
> And miles to go before I sleep.


End file.
